Cooktops comprising a relay and a driver circuit, which is provided to activate the relay, are known from the prior art, the driver circuit having an overvoltage protection circuit, which comprises a freewheeling diode and a Zener diode, and a switch bypassing the Zener diode. A control unit is also provided to activate the switch directly by means of a control signal in at least one operating state in order to bypass the Zener diode.